SIERRA de LOJA.

Friday, 7 September 2012

Huétor Tájar, Granada Province.

A walk around Huétor.

Jayne and I made our way down to the part of the ring road around the town near to where the main road crosses the Genil and started to walk anti-clockwise around the town. The first stretch was along the Genil but the only things seen were the Feral Geese that escaped from the duck pond in the park and have so far refused to return. We continued on along side the park and passed the agricultural stretch where in the quite natural looking irrigation channel there were a couple of Iberian Bluetails (Ischnura graellsii) resting on a species of Pondweedpossibly Potamogeton gramineus but I will have to check it some other time. Also seen in this stretch were Red-veined Darter (Sympetrum fonscolombii) and Bath White (Blanqiverdosa / Pontia daplidice). Birds included Zitting Cisticola (Buitrón / Cisticola juncidis), the Iberian race of Yellow Wagtail (Lavandera Boyera / Motacilla flava), Turtle Dove (Tórtola Europea / Streptopelia turtur), Serin(Verdecillo / Serinus serinus), Linnet (Pardillo Común / Carduelis cannabina) and Barn Swallow (Golondrina Común / Hirundo rustica). We then went up passed the cemetery and on to the Northern side of the town where we had good views out over my local patch, here we added Cattle Egret (Garcilla Bueyera / Bubulcus ibis), Collared Dove (Tórtola Turca / Streptopelia decaocto), Common Kestrel (Cernicalo Vulga / Falco tinnunculus), Common Stonechat(Tarabilla Común / Saxicola torquata), Crested Lark(Cogujada Común / Galerida cristata), Goldfinch (Jilguero / Carduelis carduelis), Grey Heron (Garza Real / Ardea cinerea) and Red-rumped Swallow (Golondrina Dáurica / Hirundo daurica). The last third of the walk was down the western side of the town past the feria ground which was being prepared ready for next weeks fiesta and down to the river again and back along to the car. Along here we saw a single Little Egret (Garceta Común / Egretta garzetta) and an albino Collared Dove which stood out well in the Tamarisk trees along the river. During the walk a few more plants were seen including Xanthium spinosum, Hoary Mullien (Verbascum pulverulentum), Spanish Thistle (Scolymus hispanicus), Shrub Tobacco (Nicotinana glauca), Squirting Cucumber (Ecballium elaterium), Mediterranean Daphne (Daphne gnidium) and Borage (Borago officinalis).